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NOAA scientists and research partners studying coral reef ecosystems in American Samoa and the equatorial Pacific

January 28, 2008

The coral reef at Rose Atoll, American Samoa (NOAA Photo by R. Schroeder).

Tutuila Island, American Samoa (NOAA Photo by R. Schroeder).

The NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai departed Honolulu on January 24, 2008 with a team of scientists for a 75-day study of Johnston
Atoll, the U.S. Phoenix Islands, the islands of American Samoa, and the U.S. Line Islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This
expedition is a cooperative study among NOAA scientists, local agencies in American Samoa, University of Hawaii collaborators, and US
Fish and Wildlife Service partners. It will focus on assessing and monitoring coral reef resources of these seldom explored areas. The
study is part of the biennial monitoring in the region conducted by NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Hi'ialakai expedition will be directed by Dr. Peter Vroom (Johnston Atoll/U.S. Phoenix Islands), Dr. Rusty Brainard and
Scott Ferguson (American Samoa), and Dr. Robert Schroeder (U.S. Line Islands), scientists from PIFSC's Coral Reef Ecosystem Division.
Vroom and Schroeder are affiliated with the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii. The research
cruise supports monitoring components of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System (CREIOS).
The Hi'ialakai expedition is part of a comprehensive marine research and education program sponsored by the NOAA Coral Reef
Conservation Program (CRCP). The CRCP is a partnership between the National Ocean Service (NOS), NMFS, and other NOAA agencies with the
objective of improving the understanding and management of coral reef ecosystems.

The expedition is divided into several segments. The first research leg (22 sea days) will involve studies at Johnston Atoll and
Howland and Baker Islands. The second leg (30 sea days) will cover American Samoa, and a third leg (23 sea days) will investigate
waters around Jarvis Island, Palmyra Island, and Kingman Reef before the ship returns to it's home port in Honolulu.

While the Hi'ialakai is working in American Samoa waters, 2 additional sea days will be devoted to an education and outreach
project for local high schools directed by staff of the National Marine Sanctuaries Program, NOS. Special guests on the American Samoa
leg will be Governor Togiola Tulafono, Governor of American Samoa, and Lelei Peau, Deputy Director of the American Samoa Department of
Commerce.

During each leg of the research expedition, the scientists will conduct comprehensive monitoring surveys of the shallow-water marine
resources. Teams of specialists will survey and assess the status of fishes, corals, algae and marine invertebrates while SCUBA diving
from small boats launched from the Hi'ialakai. Fine-scale assessments will be conducted by divers surveying along 25-meter
transect lines, and larger-scale assessments will be conducted through towed-diver surveys. Oceanographers will collect data using
various kinds of oceanographic monitoring equipment, including data telemetry moorings, underwater moored instruments, and sensors on
the ship. As time permits, benthic habitat mapping will also be conducted using a shipboard multi-beam sonar system.

Gray reef shark in the U.S. Line Islands (NOAA Photo by B. Zgliczynski).

This is the fourth PIFSC expedition to American Samoa in recent years and the sixth to the U.S. Line and Phoenix Islands. Accordingly,
it will allow the research team to revisit sites of particular interest that were identified during previous expeditions and explore
new areas.

One of NOAA's high priorities is to ensure the conservation of coral reef ecosystems in U.S. waters, including the extensive coral
reefs of American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. remote island areas of the central and
western Pacific Ocean. In each area, NOAA is partnering with other government offices and academic affiliates to conduct scientific
studies of coral reef organisms, their habitat, and the oceanographic and other factors affecting coral reef ecosystem health.